Upgrades & Downgrades: Advanced Micro Devices On a Roll

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The S&P 500 rose for a sixth successive session, its best run since June of '07, as it and the Dow each ended at highs for the year, although an afternoon about-face on vacation volume meant markets ended like lambs after starting like lions. Indeed headlines had a leonine lilt, as Wall Street mourned a Lionel in winter, Pride International (PDE) rose 1.33% in a strong energy sector and the Cubs declared bankruptcy. Stocks in the black included Black & Decker (BDK) (+7.64% after Barclays initiated at Overweight) and Blackstone Group (BX) is up 8.28% as it emerged on the birthday of an Eight is Enough actor that they may IPO up to eight companies.

It was a mixed bag by the beach as Pier 1 (PIR) jumped 13.38% after-hours following upbeat September same-store sales and Digital River (DRIV) ended up a creek, off 34.56% on the loss of its largest customer. Katie Holmes was mercifully missing from gossip columns but KB Homes (KBH) (-7.84%) attracted attention amid an SEC accounting investigation. Denver's boys of summer bid postseason baseball goodbye at an icy Coors field and all eyes are on Maine moderate Olympia Snowe as the Senate Finance Committee votes on health care today. Expect earnings announcements from CSX Corp (CSX), Domino's Pizza (DPZ), and Intel (INTC).

Initiations

Citigroup (C): Deutsche Bank picks up Citigroup with a Buy ($5.50 price target) as it trades at an attractive 1.1 times trough tangible book value.

Genzyme (GENZ): The firm is initiated with a Neutral at Credit Suisse ($58 target) as the loss of Cerezyme revenue has impacted earnings.

Chico's FAS (CHS): The retailer is begun with a Buy at Jesup & Lamont, with the new management team seen positively.

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